8 Best Tube Amps For Playing Heavy Metal (2025 Reviews)
Want a new guitar amp that’s suitable for heavy riffing, and high gain lead tones?
Or maybe you want an amp that can do a bit of everything, but has more gain than you’ll ever need?
If the answer is yes to either of those questions – you’re in the right place!
In this post, I’ll be reviewing a bunch of popular tube amps for playing heavy metal. I’ll share what I think about the amps, what they’re suitable for, and what other options are available.
And just to be clear – I wasn’t paid to write this, and none of these brands sent me the amps to review.
Note: The positions in this article are arbitrary. They don’t really matter. Depending on how you look at things, most of these amps could easily be ranked number 1. But it comes down to the tone you want, features you need, affordability, etc. It’s subjective. So, don’t ignore the ones further down this list. They’re great too.
1. EVH 5150
The EVH 5150 is one of the most popular metal amps ever.
If you’re looking for a flexible high gain tube amp, you can’t go wrong with the 5150. It’s been used on countless records.
The 5150 started out life in 1992 as a partnership between Eddie Van Halen and Peavey. The amp took a couple of years of prototyping. Eventually, EVH and Peavey parted ways. Later EVH partnered with Fender to launch his own brand.
While the original versions remain popular on the preowned market, the newer versions have been used by the likes of Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit, Joe Duplantier of Gojira, Scott Ian from Anthrax, Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah, and plenty more.
We’re now on version 3 and there are a bunch of different variations. The flagship 100 watt model is a 3 channel platform (clean, crunch, lead) powered by either 6L6 or EL34 power tubes. It’s a beast. Really flexible in terms of tone. There’s a 4 button footswitch you can use to control each channel and the FX loop.
There’s also a 50 watt version with 3 channels, some lunchbox heads with 2 channels, and some other variations in terms of colors, etc. You can also get the 5150 with either 6L6s (American voiced) or EL34s (British voiced).
There’s also the 80 watt Iconic series. They come with only 2 channels but they’re more affordable than the flagship models.
I like that there’s plenty of choice in the range. I went for the 50 watt EL34 model and I was not disappointed.
Where to buy
Pros
- Fantastic reliable high gain amps
- Available with either 6L6 or EL34 tubes
- Lunchbox head versions available
Cons
- Some may say that’s a bit too much gain on tap (could be a pro, I suppose!)
2. Orange Dual Terror
The Orange Dual Terror is a simple 30 watt lunchbox style head that can dish out some of the best high gain tones I’ve heard. It’s tight, punchy, and has plenty of gain on tap.
Inside, you essentially get two Tiny Terror amps in one box. So, you’ve got two footswitchable channels. One of the channels is modded so it offers more warmth and a touch of extra gain.
In terms of controls, this is as simple as it gets. Volume, tone, and gain for each channel.
Given that it’s a lunchbox amp, it’s pretty portable. Ideal for gigging at small clubs and capable of running a 2×12 or 4×12 cab should you have the need.
Where to buy
Pros
- Simple and easy to use
- Tight and punchy with plenty of gain
- Portable but still has a decent amount of power (30 watts)
- Power scaling down to 15 or 7 watts
Cons
- Not amazing for cleans
- No FX loop
- EQ section is limited (only a tone control per channel)
3. PRS MT15
The PRS MT15 is Mark Tremonti’s signature amp. It’s based on the PRS Archon, which I’ll mention later in this post.
If you dig Tremonti’s tone, you need to check out this amp. It’s a 15 watt 2-channel lunchbox head that can cover chimey cleans to balls out high gain tones.
15 watts though? It’s a seriously loud 15 watts. When I tried the MT15 it almost took my head off. Seriously. I’ve got quieter 40 watt amps.
But don’t worry if you need more. There’s also an MT100 version. As you’d expect, that version offers 100 watts and should be capable of pretty much any situation.
There’s also 5 gain stages before the master. I’m guessing that’s why it’s capable of such lush distortion.
What I particularly like about the MT15 is how flexible the tone controls are. Unlike a lot of 2-channel lunchbox heads, you get a full range of tone controls for each channel. Bass, middle, and treble. It’s a seriously nice touch.
There’s also a half power mode that takes it down to roughly 7 watts, and a push/pull boost on the clean channel.
If you also want an amp capable of pushed crunch tones, this isn’t it. Cleans and high gain tones are out of this world, but the inbetween tones aren’t there. Is that a deal breaker? Only you can decide.
Where to buy
Pros
- Exceptional modern metal tones
- Flexible controls
- Great clean tones with decent head room
Cons
- Amp is a little noisier than some others (you may need a noise gate)
- Not ideal for low/mid overdrive tones
4. Victory Kraken
The Victory Kraken is a unique take on the modern metal amp. It offers both British and American voiced channels that are independently switchable. Think JCM800 and 5150 in a compact box.
Both the crunch channel and lead channels sound great.
Victory is a British amp company. And they’ve got an incredible lineup of amps. The Kraken has proven to be extremely popular with metal guitarists.
The Kraken has been through several iterations. It started out life as a lunchbox head. Decent wattage, portable, and insanely good dirty tones. But no clean channel. This is the version I bought. Still, a fantastic amp.
Sometime later, the VX Super Kraken 100 watt version was released. This version had a bunch of extra features such as a clean channel. The original was 50 watts so this new version was a huge step up in terms of volume.
Afterwards, Victory brought out V2 of the lunchbox head which included a clean channel and some other extra tweaks. Unlike a lot of other guitar amps aimed at metal guitarists, the clean channel sounds great.
The clean channel was the only thing missing on the original IMO.
Now, there’s an entire suite of Kraken gear. There’s a guitar pedal, pre-amp pedal, amp pedal, lunchbox head, compact head, and a beasty 100 watt version. The compact head is the same as the lunchbox head, just with a wooden sleeve instead.
Overall, the concept of the Kraken is amazing and so are the tones it can dish out.
Where to buy
Pros
- American and British voiced gain channels
- Low and high power modes
- External bias jacks
- Series FX loop (in case you need to run reverb or time based effects)
- Compact and portable (lunchbox version)
- Gain balance control to offset the volume difference between the two channels (lunchbox version)
Cons
- Less affordable than some other guitar amplifiers
5. Orange Dark Terror
The Orange Dark Terror is the high gain version of the now discontinued Tiny Terror amp.
Quite honestly, I don’t know why they stopped making the Tiny Terror. It was a crazy popular amp. It literally launched the “lunchbox head” trend.
But it appeared that metal guitarists needed even more gain. They also needed an FX loop. So, that’s the deal with the Dark Terror.
It’s a single channel 15-watt lunchbox head that can be stepped down to 7 watts. Loads of gain available and the all important tube-buffered FX loop.
The controls are as simple as it gets. Well, sort of. There’s volume, shape, and gain controls. You’d probably be thinking shape means tone and you’d be right (sort of).
The shape control adjusts the midrange voicing. So, it cuts the mids whilst boosting the low and high-end. It’s similar to the TH30 head amp but with some tweaks to the shape control.
If you need a small portable amp, this is a good option. But if you need a second channel or a lot more headroom, this won’t be ideal.
Where to buy
Pros
- Great British voiced high gain tones
- Power scaling from 15 to 7 watts
- Tube-buffered effects loop
- Very portable
Cons
- Limited EQ controls (just a shape control)
- Single channel only
6. Orange OR Series
The Orange OR series is perfect for doom and sludge metal. It’s pretty much the classic amp tone for that sort of thing. So, if you doom, check out the OR series.
The OR series features a couple of amp heads. A 15 watt and a 30 watt version.
In addition to extra headroom, the 30 watt version is a lot more flexible. It’s got a bunch of extra controls so it’s a lot easier to dial in the metal tone you want.
Both variations of the OR are single channel amps. And both have FX loops.
The OR Series amps pack a lot of punch. They’re pretty loud amps but they both have power scaling. The OR15 goes down to about 7 watts. The power scaling on the OR30 is on the back of the amp but it goes down to a tiny 2 watts so it’s likely a better option for playing at home or in a bedroom. Hence why they call it “headroom to bedroom.”
The OR30 is a fair bit more expensive. Whether it’s worth the extra money for you, that’ll depend on your needs. It’s worth noting that the OR30 is made in the UK and the OR15 is built overseas. Hence the much lower price.
IMO, you can’t go wrong with either of these amps. And they’re quite accessible compared to some of the older amps that are typically associated with doom metal. But if you need a second channel, you may want to look at another amplifier.
Where to buy
Pros
- Classic doom metal tones
- Flexible controls (particularly on the OR30)
- FX loops on both models
- Power scaling on both models (OR30 goes down to a lower wattage, however.)
Cons
- Single channel only
7. PRS Archon
The PRS Archon is a beast of a guitar amplifier. It’s an American voiced tube amp with 5 gain stages.
You read that right. It wasn’t a typo. 5 freaking gain stages. Powered by 2x 6L6 tubes. You’ve got 50 watts of tube power to play with, an FX loop, and flexible controls. There are 2 footswitchable channels and external bias jacks.
For modern metal, this is one of the best tube amps out there. But it’s loud. The older USA made versions of the Archon had power scaling down to 25 watts. The newer overseas model doesn’t. So, probably not a good choice for a bedroom amp unless you want to annoy your neighbors.
I have to confess. My expectations were way off with this amp. Most metal amps don’t do cleans. Or at least, not well.
While I wouldn’t recommend the Archon for playing brit pop or a blues cover band, it’s far more versatile than you might expect. The clean sounds are pretty damn good.
Most importantly though, those savage high gain tones sound incredible. And that’s probably why this model has been used by the likes of Tosin Abasi, Neal Schon, Mark Holcomb, and Jeff Loomis. Mark Tremonti also used it as the platform to develop his signature MT15 amp.
So, if you want a high quality amp for modern metal tones, yet, with plenty of tonal versatility, be sure to check out the Archon.
It’s available as a 50 watt combo or 50 watt head.
Where to buy
Pros
- More affordable than previous versions
- Flexible controls
- Great tone
- External bias jacks
- Built-in effects loop
Cons
- No power scaling
8. Orange Micro Dark
The Orange Micro Dark is the smaller sibling to the Dark Terror that I talked about earlier.
I bought one of these back in 2017 and it blew me away.
It’s not a full tube amp like others on this list. It’s a hybrid amp. It has a tube powered preamp section with a solid state power section. It’s a similar idea to the old Marshall Valvestates (I think).
The amp is simple and portable. Don’t expect huge amounts of volume or headroom. That just isn’t happening here. Not with an amp that’s smaller than my own head.
But, if you want something for practicing at home at lower volumes that isn’t digital, The Micro Dark is a very good shout.
Heck, I know guitarists that have had tubes blow on their main amp and used the Micro Dark as a backup. Never expected that. But it has happened.
Where to buy
Pros
- Great tones for a hybrid amp
- Super small and very portable
- Very affordable
Cons
- Not full tube (only tube preamp)
Wrapping it up (and a few frequently asked questions)
Are there other great tube amplifiers for playing metal out there? You bet! But out of the amps I’ve personally tried, these are some of my favorites.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing your next amp, especially if you don’t have the option to try before you buy:
- Head room – If you’re just playing in your bedroom, most amps will be overkill. The Orange Dual Terror has a “bedroom or headroom” mode so you can drop the wattage down significantly. In general, I always like to go for a higher wattage amp than I’ll need, so I’ve got more headroom for pedals.
- Wattage – This doesn’t tell you exactly how loud an amp will be. And the volume of a tube amp is far louder than a solid state amp of “equivalent” wattage.
- Head amps are more convenient – Combo amps are heavy. Well, so are head amps and speaker cabs, but you can always switch out your cab for a lightweight cab by Matrix Amplification. And if you plan to have multiple amps, it’s more straightforward to have a cab with several heads stacked on it, than a load of cabs. Head amps are more convenient if you may want to run a load box, so you can crank your amp without incinerating your ears (and everything around you).
- Do you need a clean channel? – It’s helpful to at least have the option of cleans, even if you don’t use them very often. This is why I’m tempted to upgrade to the Super Kraken, since the VX doesn’t have a clean channel. But, I have other amplifiers for cleans, so it’s not a massive issue. But, if it’s going to be your only amp, it’s something to consider.
- Do you need an FX loop? – Some pedals will just sound better through an FX loop instead of straight into the front of the amp. Most of these amps have FX loops, but the Orange Dual Terror doesn’t, so it’s worth considering. This will be important if you use reverb.
- What about YouTube demos? – These are always worth watching prior to buying gear but bear in mind that YouTube compresses the balls out of audio. And you need to listen on a decent pair of speakers. But always remember that with a high quality gear demo where the amp is mic’d up, the “in-the-room” sound will be different.
- Your speaker cabinet – Your speaker cab will have more impact on your tone than you might think. But, they can be tricky to store if you’re limited on space. Be sure to check out my article on space-saving speaker cabinets for some ideas.
That wraps up my roundup of the best amps for metal. Just remember that the exact amp you choose should be based on your own personal preferences.
Like any other gear, this is a highly subjective choice.
Playing guitar gets far more enjoyable with the right amplifier.
But don’t forget that you can shape your amps tone with guitar pedals. In particular, I’d recommend getting a tube screamer style pedal if you don’t have one already. A lot of metal guitarists use this type of pedal to tighten up the low end when playing an amp with a lot of gain.
It’s especially effective when playing in lower tunings.
And since we’re on the subject of metal, be sure to check out my articles on 6-string metal guitars, and extended range guitars.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck with your gear acquisition journey/syndrome.
